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A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor, a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Project Enable - Human Resources: Help Is on the Way

By members of Project ENABLE's Human Resources Public
Relations/Communications Team

Spectrum Volume 17 Issue 26 - March 30, 1995

Do you ever get tired of typing the same information simply because there is
yet another form to fill out? There is help on the way. The technology
surrounding the new Human Resources Information System (HRIS) is designed to
speed and ease current business processes and eliminate some of the frustration
of filling out numerous forms.

Take the classified-employee appointment process as an example. Substantial
input from the university community is contributing to a significant
streamlining of this process. A staffing process-improvement team with
representation from the Controller's Office, the Provost's Office, a college
office, Personnel Services, Information Systems, and Budget and Financial
Planning recommended a number of simplifications in approval processes and
personnel procedures early last year.

Some changes, such as eliminating Budget Office approvals on sponsored
positions or eliminating the requirement that newly appointed instructional
faculty members complete a state application for the personnel folder, were put
in effect at that time. Others will be implemented beginning in January 1996,
with the HRIS, as demonstrated in the following scenario.

Currently, the appointment of a classified employee starts when a form, the
P3A, is typed, and a lot of information already keyed in elsewhere has to be
re-typed.

When HRIS is fully operational, information about an open classified position
and an applicant will already be in the system and can easily be displayed on
the computer screen of your department workstation.

Keystrokes are reduced to specific information concerning a job appointment.
Once the appointment is keyed in, anyone with appropriate authorization can
call up a position, an employee, or a job appointment, and get all the related
status information.

The scenario at the bottom of this page compares the current appointment
process and the new HRIS supported process. Obviously, the new process is
shorter. However, there are a number of other benefits; 10 are listed in the
table below, along with a brief statement of how each is supported.

BENEFITS WITH NEW HRIS

WHAT

HOW

1. Reduce data keying

Data entered electronically once is subsequently provided and displayed automatically by the system.

Local decision-makers approve and other levels report and review actions

8. Reduce the maintenance of duplicate data in local offices

Central data accessible and transportable to local systems and workstations

9. Reduce paper files

Data entered directly into system and easily accessible

10. Improve customer service and increase employee productivity

Faster, more accurate processing with less effort due to both process re-design and new system capability

The Employee Appointment Process--A Scenario

The English Department has interviewed applicants and selected the best
candidate to fill an established vacant classified position. The department
head has approved the hiring offer. The offer has been made and accepted by the
selected candidate and the department head has authorized the appointment
process. The table below shows the current steps required for the process and
the steps in the redesigned process.) Note that the current process has nine
required steps to get the appointment completely processed in Personnel
Services, but usually involves the 12 steps outlined below. With the redesigned
process, the appointment requires only four steps and it is reflected in the
system immediately after the first step.

* Note: Many of the manual verifications, information gathering, forms
retention, and tracking activities in the current process will be eliminated.

The HR system may be queried online (for example, by the college dean) to
review the appointment or other personnel actions; and management reports on
appointments or other personnel actions can be generated on demand. Data from
the central HR system may also be exported to a local (department or college)
system if desired. A system-generated report identifies new employees for
orientation scheduling.

Future articles will highlight other process improvements, methods for
measuring these improvements, and specifics about what will change in the
department work environments.